Shanghai presents the world’s tallest building (in two of the CTBUH categories).

Standing at 494m tall from sidewalk level to the tip, the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) in China falls short of the World’s Tallest Building title by 142 m at the current measurements for the Burj Dubai. But according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) the tower is the tallest in two out of four categories: Highest Occupied Floor and Height to Roof.

Having opened for business the Center is officially recognised by the CTBUH awarding the structure with the title of World’s Tallest in these categories with the heighest occupied floor of the SWFC at 474m and the height to top of roof at 487m. But the achievement will be for a limited time only as there are currently ten further buildings under construction designed to be taller. The CTBUH also categorizes under ‘Height to architectural top’ and ‘Height to tip’ but sadly the building will never receive these accolades.

The 101 storey, mixed use tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Mori Building has a basic form of a square prism, 58 m on a side. This is intersected by two sweeping arcs to form a vertically-evolving six-sided shape in plan, ultimately tapering into a single diagonal line at the apex, 492 m above the base. The building contains sophisticated urban retail spaces at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the top, and sixty-two office floors with cutting-edge specifications inbetween. Above the hotel, at the 94th to 100th levels, there will be a visitor’s center and observatory once the building is completed.